Storage case



June 16, 1931.

K. R. TEMPLETON STORAGE CASE Filed Oct. 6, 1928 25 them from the container.

. claims.

Patented June 16, 1931 r f UNITED STATES PATENT; oFFIcE- mimi n.' 'rnlvrrnnrort 0F CHICAGO, ILLINoIs STORAGE ,CASE

Application iled.'y cto'ber 6, 1928. Sera1.No. 310,773.

My invention relatesl to storage cases and has to do more particularly with containers for storing or shipping various kinds of material, which containers are adapted to be securely closed for protecting the contentsy during shippingor for protection of the contents from dust and the like, While in-storage, at the same time being so designed that.l they may readily and quickly be opened.

An object of my invention` is to produce a device of the class described Which is ineX- pensive to manufacture, simple in construction, neat in appearance and, at the same time.,

durable.

Y Ay further object of my inventionis to provide a container in combination With clamping members therefor, saidl clamping members being positively retained 4von the container so that noamount of jarring will cause them to loosen or become disengaged.

A'stillfurther object istovprov-ide closure members of the type described, Which Will have have -means for manual engagement 'thereon in yorderfto facilitate disengaging y yManyother objects and advantages of the construction herein shown andfdes'cribed Will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosures herein given. y v

To this end Imyinvention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and jcombii vnationpof parts herein shown anddescribed, 4and more particularly/pointed out inmthe line 2-42 are perspective views of members similar respectively to those shown in Figs. 4 andand embodying another form of the invention. I v ,n

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the numeral 10 designatesay container of any suitable shape, size, material, and design. `ln its preferred embodiment, however, the container is formed of cardboard, beaver board,

or the like, and is in the formy of a rectangulary parallelopipedon having iixed: side Walls 11, a bottom Wall 12, and `top flaps 13 hinged at their edges as at 14. It Will be understood that in the type of container shown there is also providedl a pair of flaps'l hingedly connecte-d to the short sides ofthe container, these .flaps underlyingfthe flaps 13. Obviously, other closure means may be substituted for the iiaps 13 and 16.

Attached to two of the opposed side Walls 11 arev securing members indicated generally at 15 and shown indetailinFig. 52j. Each tof f f these securing members comprises aloop por` tion 17 disposed in r`spaced relation' to the outer face of the side Wall of the container and, substantially parallel thereto,- and tongues 18 disposed on the inside vofthe container Wall. As shovvnV the securing fmem? bers are provided with the offset portions 17.vvhch Will opverlie the vside Wall face of the container. ltvvill be readilyY understood that the securing vmembers may be stamped in the form shovvn in Fig. 5,V and, When assembled thetongues 18 are passed through the Wall i of the container, these tongues thenl being bent or clinched over thervmain -face of the sijde Wall as shown in Fig. `3. fObviouslythe securing` member mayA be made in various other forms than that disclosed and they tongues may be varied` in number'an-d shape as' desired. When attached to the container 9 v10the loop 17 spaced from the container Wall forms vvith` the Wall4 of the lcontainer kthe equivalentjvofa socket. p f Y Clamping membersas shown in Fig. `4fare provided for retaining the flaps of the .con-f tainer or other closure in closedy position. v These clamping members 1n the embodiment referred to are formed of flat'U.-shaped strips of comparatively resilient metal, although other suitable material may be used, and

ice

comprise a portion 20 adapted to be disposed transversely of the container and overlie the top and portions 21 forming the legs of the U depending from the portion 20. It will be seen from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 4 that the leg portions 21 in the preferred embodiment are not bent at precisely a right angle from the portion 20, but are at an obtuse angle thereto or slightly spaced outwardly. The purpose of such a construction will later become apparent. Adjacent the extremities of the leg portions 21 are offset portions 23 forming a shoulder, the leg being:

further extended as shown at 22.

' ing members 15:.

It will be seen that in assembling the clamping members with'the container 10 the fia-ps are placed in the closed position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the clamping members are then placed thereover, the leg portions being passed through the loops 17 of the secur- The offset portions 22 of the leg portions 21 of the clamps are urged by the resilient nature of the clamps against the loops 17 as shown best in Fig. 2, the outwardly extending flanges 23 abutting firmly against the lower edge of the loop members 17, so that these clamps are positively retained in the locked position and no amount of jarring in transportation or otherwise can loosen the clamps. When, however, it is desired to remove these clamps the offset por tions 22 serve as thumb pieces by which the leg portions of the clamp may readily be pressed inwardly and thus disengage from the loops 17.

If desired to seal in transportation or other- Wise, a sticker 25 formed of vgummed paper or the `like may be pasted over the clamps as shown in Fig. 1. This sticker is not required to maintain the container closed, inasmuch as the clamps alone are suflicient, but serves as a seal, for the clamps cannot be removed without breaking the sticker. This feature, however, is an optional one.

Figs. 6' and 7 show clamping and securing members, respectively, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, but formed of resilient wire instead of at material. Obviously the principle of Operation in both cases is substantially the same.

Applicant is awareir of Various devices which are old in the art for retaining in closed position cartonsv or other packages. One such device comprises a metallic clamp which is adapted to extend over a carton, the ends of the clamp ,beingl bent inwardly so as to grip the sides of the carton. Another such device comprises a U-shaped clamp having perforations adjacent its ends, this clamp being adapted to embrace a carton, the side Walls of the carton having buttons or pins which are supposed to seat in the perforations of the clamp. Thev objection to both orf the devices described is that the clamps may Itend to bend outwardly especially after repeated application and removal, and unless in perfect order become unseated from the carton, there being no means provided for positively retaining the clamps in retaining position.

In applicants device, however, the clamps are not only resilient but are so formed that the leg portions spring outwardly rather than at a right angle from the transverse portion thereof, the application tending to spread them and thus these portions are constantly urged against the securing members and undue inward bending prevented by the container wall. These securing members being substantially sockets positively retain the clamps, the clamps being disengageable only by the manual inward depression of the offset portions 22.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without de-` parting from the spirit of my invention; for example, if desired, the odset portions 22 may be considerably shortened so that the leg portions 21 terminate merely in the Voutwardly extending flange 23 adapted to grip the lower face of the loops 17. If this were the case, the clamps could be disengaged from the container mer-ely by pressing inwardly on the ends or the depending portions 21 above the loops 17. It will-be noted that the devices are applicable to round or other shaped boxes or containers, as for example wooden cheese boxes, metal containers, etc. Where desired the U-shaped devices may be` attached directly to a removable closure. `l-Ience I do notwish to be understood as limiting myself t'o the exact form, construction, arrangement and vcombination of parts herein shown and described, or uses men-l tioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, a container having a bottom wall, side walls and closure means, a resilient U-shaped clamp extending across said closure means and embracing opposed side walls, lthe legs of said clamp being resiliently urged away from said walls, a loop member attached to each of said walls, and means on said legs releasably engageable by said loop members.

2. In a device of the class described, a container having a bottom wall, side walls and closure means, a resilient U-shaped clamp extending across said closure means and embracing opposed side walls, the legs of said clamp being resiliently urged away from said walls, means on said walls for detachably engaging said legs, means on said legs cooperating with said last-named means, and means on said legs for manually disengaging them. i

3. In a device of the class described, a container having. ka bottom wall, side walls and closure means, a resilient U-shaped clamp extending across said closure means and embracing opposed side Walls, a loop member attached to each of said Walls for retaining said clamp and oset portion on the legs of said clamp cooperating with said loop members, and means on said clamp for manually disengaging the same from said loop members.

4. In a device of the class described, a container having bottom, side and end Walls and a closure therefor, a resilient U-shaped clamp extending across said closure and having legs provided with offset portions embracing opposite side Walls of the container, a loop member attached to each of said side walls and cooperable With said oiset portions for retaining the clamp in operative position With respect to said closure and container, and means on said leg portions eX- tending beyond said loop members and removed from the adjacent yside of the ccntainer for manually disengaging the oli'set portions from said loop members.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

KARL R. TEMPLETON. 

